First few days with the S30, incredibly happy!

#1

I have been dragging my heels a bit on the digital side of my system, having HDs full of a long abandoned FLAC/ALAC/WAV library tucked away for a few years, while I succumbed to the convenience of Spotify from my phone via an airport express.

Having upgraded and arrived at pretty much my end game stereo system, it was time!

That the S30 would be an improvement was a given, but end to end I’ve been super impressed with everything. The set-up, config and operation is great, the interface and process of loading the library, running Roon and so on is seamless. I can’t believe its taken me this long to get here!

Next step is the S60.

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#2

Yes I agree. I also have the s30 with the s60 and the sound is incredible, very sweet and natural.

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#3

I ended up getting a s60 less than a week later as one fortuitously came up for sale. very very happy!

I have a noise issue to do with grounding somehow on my system that seems logical and mystical in equal amounts. If I have the s30 on a the same board as my turntable/pre-amp/phono, I get computer noise/interference (whining, changing pitches etc) on the turntable, but not the phono or preamp so it creates a noise floor for vinyl playback. Switch the s60 supply over to it’s own outlet, and the interference on the turntable disappears, but appears on the s30… i’m using the included RCA outs currently, so I know introducing a DAC will likely fix my issues, but currently has me chasing power plug combos in vain!

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#4

Great to hear another S30/S60 combo owners opinion Andy.
I love mine and marvel at the music every time I listen. Just home from 12 nights away in the campervan so they’re warming up for a session as we speak hahaha.
I have found that a power conditioner/filter really helps noisy supply issues. Like they say, you don’t know what you’ve fgot 'til it’s gone. I use a Thor PS 10 that I was lucky to pick up for an excellent price and every component is supplied from it.
A DAC will certainly help, across the board. My S30 is connected via a Curious Cable USB to a Denafrips Pontus and they compliment each other really nicely.
Enjoy your library. You’ll no doubt wonder where all of that music has been hiding!

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#5

To me the s60 is anything but noisy, but I experience a very mixed bag when it comes to mains filtering.
I think the phono issue is a ground loop, the phono ground/earth is very sensitive to where you connect it, on both sides (preamp, or turntable chassis and/or arm).
This week I plugged the S60/30 in my old mains filter. That one did a wonderful job with my dac, is a very strong filter, but the Antipodes sounded a bit dull, laid back, less detailed and the soundstage went backwards a meter or so. So I run my s60 without conditioner and only with a nice Puritan powercord. The Puritan conditioners must be better sounding, but I leave that for the future. I now very much realize that what makes Antipodes so good: less filtering and damping, invent smart ways to get around noise and good power supply design. Or am I missing something :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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#6

Wait until you try the S30 with its matching S60 and the S20 reclocker!
Woah is all I can say.
Enjoy the music.
s30 usb into s20, i2s out to matrix audio mini ipro3 dac.
Just heaven

#7

Agree re the S60 which is why I use it. Nevertheless, it is still plugged into Thor for the lightning and power surge protection as is the amp and DAC.
To my simple mind, it makes sense to have a clean and stable power supply to everything.

#8

Just pulled the trigger on the S30/S60 combo as the offer on TM was too tempting. For the last few years I used a Evo 432 Standard/Roon/Qobuz into Chord HugoTT2/Mscaler connected to amp and Susvara headphone and was quite happy with the sound.
Can’t wait to compare and actually hope there will be an improvement. Also, buying local is the sensible thing to do.

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#9

I only hear positives re the S20 and other DDCs.
Sadly, as a self funded retiree I need to save some more pennies before I can explore that road.
One day…